Evan A. Nelson
Associate
Overview
Evan Nelson focuses his practice on property rights – from making sure landowners get just compensation when their property is condemned to representing trustees and beneficiaries in trust disputes. He also represents clients in complex commercial disputes. Additionally, he maintains an active pro bono practice, with significant experience in environmental, administrative, and Government Data Practices Act litigation.
Evan has been named a 2021 Up & Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer, and was selected for inclusion on the 2021 Minnesota Rising Stars list, a designation given to only 2.5 percent of Minnesota attorneys each year.
Evan graduated first in his class from the University of North Dakota School of Law. During law school, he was also judicial extern to the Honorable Kermit E. Bye of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Experience
- Represented property owners in several areas of real estate litigation, including condemnation, quiet title, utility billing, and purchase-and-sale-agreement disputes.
- Represented both fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation.
- Represented clients in debt collection disputes regarding clients’ parents’ debt to nursing homes.
- Represented commercial clients in franchise disputes, breach of contract, and LLC dissolution matters.
- Represented construction companies and design professionals in defective design and construction disputes, as well as insurance coverage disputes.
Pro Bono
- Pro Bono litigation regarding copper-sulfide mining project: Evan serves as lead to team of Maslon lawyers providing pro bono counsel to environmental organizations in several related and complex challenges to a copper-sulfide mine project proposed to be built within the Lake Superior watershed and in close proximity to the Boundary Waters. Representative case: Matter of NorthMet Project Permit to Mine Application Dated December 2017, 959 N.W.2d 731 (Minn. 2021).
- ABA Pro Bono Death Penalty Representation: Ex parte Armstrong (Tex. Crim. App. 2017). Member of team of Maslon lawyers serving as pro bono counsel for Douglas Tyrone Armstrong, a Texas death row inmate convicted of capital murder in 2006. The team successfully secured the vacation of Armstrong's death sentence by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Honors
Up & Coming Attorney, Minnesota Lawyer, 2021
Recognized on Minnesota Rising Stars list as part of the Super Lawyers® selection process, 2021 (Minnesota Rising Stars is a designation given to only 2.5 percent of Minnesota attorneys each year, based on a selection process that includes the recommendation of peers in the legal profession.)
Light of Justice Award, Texas Defender Service, 2018
North Star Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2017-2020 (North Star Lawyer is a designation that recognizes members who provide 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services in a calendar year.)